Accepting Payments
MasterCard Creates New Payment Product With A Company Most Have Never Heard Of.
You Will Not See This On The Front Page Of Techcrunch And Why This Should Be There
Even the most literate technologists would have a hard time recognizing the name Syniverse. Today MasterCard and Syniverse have announced a partnership that may come as a huge surprise to many payment startups [1]. Syniverse does not pop up in the hot startup conversations because they are ancient, born in 1987 as GTE Telecommunications Services [2]. The company has been busy building some of the most advance infrastructure in the cellular world.
The basis of the new product is to allow for the cardholder to block transactions based on the location of their smartphone. Sounds easy but it actually requires quite a number of new and old technologies to synchronize. MasterCard puts it this way:
There is more to it:
MasterCard: Your Location Is “Priceless”
This is a very useful service but the hidden feature is how this service can migrate into a system that is far more then just a security feature for use when you travel. It is far, far more then this.
When this system is fully deployed, MasterCard would be able to know your location based on your smartphone and offer a number of very unique services. Of course is great security for any type of transaction. It also has a bit of creepiness to it by opting in to allow your payment card company to know where you go. However they already know quite a bit about you and by knowing your locations you will have a far more tailored service. This will come with offers and discounts that are based on data that only your payment card company could know.
There are dozens of use cases for this type of system. So many that I believe that if used correctly and either partner does not hurt the logical development, systems like these will change the world of payments.
If one finds this interesting, you will love what Apple has planned for you and your sparkling new iWallet. One may say this is just a preview to the main event.
The Lost Opportunities Of Payment Startups
This sort of service is not new to me as I tried with great effort for many years to get a few payment startups to meet with payment card companies to design this very same system. If you are working at a payment startup and this is news to you, ask your founders why your company did not build this and partner with MasterCard or Visa or American Express or Discover or… Know that I tried and am still trying.
The fact that an old company crafted this innovative program is fascinating. Although some startups understood the vision they lacked the motivation to form true accords and partnerships. Misunderstanding history and who owns the land they are building products on has caused trillions of dollars in lost opportunities.
One particular startup was in a supremely important position to catalyze this concept and use this type of relationship to move the company’s products on a world state. This startup choose to focus on products that will be seen by history to be diversions of time, talent and money.
We all can learn from these announcements. The fact remains that the future is malleable and can be impacted by the dreams of a young startup founder. There are two paths one can take:
“Get Into Your Highchair And Eat Your Disruption Carrots"
Today, sadly most startups are put into a highchair and are spoon fed from investors, advisors and the tech media that they are “disruptors”. They clearly are not, nor will ever be and this is fine if you have the guts to see the world as it really is and can be. It is not hard to understand why seeing the world though these “disruptive” lens allows for trillion dollar opportunities to be lost.
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Mommy says: “You will eat your disruption carrots and you will like it”
If you have any notion to start a company or are a founder of a company heed well the concept that only a handful of true disruptions take place in any lifetime. You can take Plan 2 and have a great short term success but the companies that take Plan 1 will always have the long term success.
I do not say this, history shouts it out loudly.
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[1] MasterCard and Syniverse Deliver Peace of Mind for Mobile Users
[2] Home
Even the most literate technologists would have a hard time recognizing the name Syniverse. Today MasterCard and Syniverse have announced a partnership that may come as a huge surprise to many payment startups [1]. Syniverse does not pop up in the hot startup conversations because they are ancient, born in 1987 as GTE Telecommunications Services [2]. The company has been busy building some of the most advance infrastructure in the cellular world.
The basis of the new product is to allow for the cardholder to block transactions based on the location of their smartphone. Sounds easy but it actually requires quite a number of new and old technologies to synchronize. MasterCard puts it this way:
This service aims to reduce consumers’ frustrations associated with having their payment cards used without their knowledge or having their own transactions unnecessarily declined when trying to make purchases in another country. Financial institutions will also have an additional tool that will help them make more effective decisions when approving or declining a transaction on behalf of their customers.
There is more to it:
In addition, mobile users could also have a choice of prepaid data packages that they can purchase directly from their phones when they arrive in their destination country. Approximately 75 million mobile phone users travel outside their home country each month, yet today 70 percent of people switch their mobile data function off when they arrive, which is likely in an effort to avoid roaming charges.
Mobile network operators and brands can also benefit from the collaboration between MasterCard and Syniverse. In the future, they could implement targeted offers, which will be made more relevant by knowing the location of a mobile device, for example in close proximity to a retail store. A research report for Syniverse from economists at SEEC uncovered a market valued of as much as $44 billion for operators providing services to brands based on opted-in mobile subscribers’ information, behavior and location – known as mobile context.
MasterCard: Your Location Is “Priceless”
This is a very useful service but the hidden feature is how this service can migrate into a system that is far more then just a security feature for use when you travel. It is far, far more then this.
When this system is fully deployed, MasterCard would be able to know your location based on your smartphone and offer a number of very unique services. Of course is great security for any type of transaction. It also has a bit of creepiness to it by opting in to allow your payment card company to know where you go. However they already know quite a bit about you and by knowing your locations you will have a far more tailored service. This will come with offers and discounts that are based on data that only your payment card company could know.
There are dozens of use cases for this type of system. So many that I believe that if used correctly and either partner does not hurt the logical development, systems like these will change the world of payments.
If one finds this interesting, you will love what Apple has planned for you and your sparkling new iWallet. One may say this is just a preview to the main event.
The Lost Opportunities Of Payment Startups
This sort of service is not new to me as I tried with great effort for many years to get a few payment startups to meet with payment card companies to design this very same system. If you are working at a payment startup and this is news to you, ask your founders why your company did not build this and partner with MasterCard or Visa or American Express or Discover or… Know that I tried and am still trying.
The fact that an old company crafted this innovative program is fascinating. Although some startups understood the vision they lacked the motivation to form true accords and partnerships. Misunderstanding history and who owns the land they are building products on has caused trillions of dollars in lost opportunities.
One particular startup was in a supremely important position to catalyze this concept and use this type of relationship to move the company’s products on a world state. This startup choose to focus on products that will be seen by history to be diversions of time, talent and money.
We all can learn from these announcements. The fact remains that the future is malleable and can be impacted by the dreams of a young startup founder. There are two paths one can take:
- Work with existing payments infrastructure, relationships and equipment investments
- Work against existing payments infrastructure, relationships and equipment investments
“Get Into Your Highchair And Eat Your Disruption Carrots"
Today, sadly most startups are put into a highchair and are spoon fed from investors, advisors and the tech media that they are “disruptors”. They clearly are not, nor will ever be and this is fine if you have the guts to see the world as it really is and can be. It is not hard to understand why seeing the world though these “disruptive” lens allows for trillion dollar opportunities to be lost.
Mommy says: “You will eat your disruption carrots and you will like it”
If you have any notion to start a company or are a founder of a company heed well the concept that only a handful of true disruptions take place in any lifetime. You can take Plan 2 and have a great short term success but the companies that take Plan 1 will always have the long term success.
I do not say this, history shouts it out loudly.
_____
[1] MasterCard and Syniverse Deliver Peace of Mind for Mobile Users
[2] Home